Workplaces all over the UK are preparing for Christmas and all the traditions and customs that come with it. But will this Christmas be a cause of happiness and celebration, or of disappointment and embarrassment?
At this time of year, colleges show their appreciation of each other by doing a “Secret Santa”. Secret Santa involves people who work together buying gifts for each other without saying who they are from.
Co-workers all write their names on pieces of paper, then organize a lottery in which each worker picks a colleague’s name at random. He then has to buy a present for that colleague, usually on a small budget of five or ten pounds.
Since the givers are unknown, the quality of presents can vary greatly. In an Internet survey of Secret Santa presents, the gifts that people received range from tickets to the opera to an air freshener for a car.
Another common workplace tradition is the office Christmas party, at which workmates put on their best clothes and enjoy lots of free wine.
Most parties go without a hitch, but sometimes the alcohol cause party-goers to behave in a way that they later regret.
The BBC invited people to share their most embarrassing Christmas office party stories, and received hundreds of funny ones. For example, a man split his trousers while dancing; a drunken lady spent the whole night with the edge of her dress folded into her pants, and later looked at photos that proved it at work.
But the funniest story must be that of Stuart Vanies, who got so drunk that he put his boss’s head into the toilet. Unsurprisingly, he was fired the very next day.
【小题1】 How many Christmas traditions are mentioned?

Dear Daughter,

     As we drove off from Columbia, I wanted to write to tell you all that is on my mind.

First, I want to tell you how proud we are. Getting into Columbia is a real testament(证明) of what a great well-rounded student you are. You should be as proud of yourself as we are.

Your college years will be the most important of your life. It is in college that you will discover what learning is about. This will be the period when you go from teacher taught to master inspired, after which you must become a self-learner. So do take each subject seriously, and even if what you learn is of no practical use in real life, the learning skills you get will be something you will value forever.

   Follow your passion in college. Take courses you think you will enjoy. Don’t be bothered by what others think or say, but make up your own mind. Most importantly, make true friends and be happy. Don’t worry abut their hobbies, grades, looks, or even personalities.

    Start planning early what you’d like to do. Where would you like to live? What would you like to learn? I think your plan to study fashion is good, and you should decide where you want to be, and get onto the right courses. I will always be there for you, but the time has come for you to be in the driver’s seat--this is your life, and you need to be in control. Being in control feels great. Try it, and you’ll love it!

   So please treasure your college years--make the best use of your free time, become an independent thinker in control of your destiny, and learn through your successes and challenges.

   May your years at Columbia be the happiest of your life, and may you grow into just what you dream to be.                                               

  Love

                                                              Dad & Mom

1.We can read between the lines that________.

A. Dad is very strict with his daughter

B. Dad has a strong love for his daughter

C. Dad always worries about his daughter

D. Dad is much concerned about his daughter's health

2.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Plan things before you do them.

B. Self-learning is very important in college.

C. Follow your passion and what other people say.

D. Leading a life is just like driving a car.

3.The underlined word “destiny” in the passage is the closest in meaning to____________.

A. weight        B. Time       C. position       D. life

4.The purpose of the author in writing the letter is to tell his daughter to____________.

A. make the most of her college      B. fight till she succeeds

C. be confident and happy         D. smile to her trouble in 1ife

完形填空(共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分)
A little boy invited his mother to attend his school’s first teacher-parent meeting. To the little boy’s  1  ,she said she would go. This  2  be the first time that his classmates and teacher  3   his mother and he felt 4  of her appearance. Although she was a beautiful woman, there was a severe scar(疤痕)that 5  nearly the entire right side of her face. The boy never wanted to  6  why or how she got the scar.
At the meeting, the people were 7  by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother  8  the car, but the little boy was still embarrassed(尴尬)and  9  himself from everyone. He did, however, get within 10  of a conversation between his mother and his teacher.
The teacher asked 11  ,“How did you get the scar on your face?”
The mother replied,“  12   my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught fire. Everyone was  13   afraid to go in because the fire was 14  ，so I went in. As I was running toward his bed, I saw a long piece of wood coming down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked  15   but fortunately, a fireman came in and saved both of us.” She  16   the burned side of her face. “This scar will be  17  ,but to this day, I have never  18  what I did.”
At this point, the little boy came out running toward his mother with tears in his eyes. He held her in his arms and felt a great 19  of the sacrifice(牺牲)that his mother had made for him. He held her hand  20  for the rest of the day.

When buying from a dealer, the law says that a car must be:
As described:
This includes the history of the car as well as its specification．For example, if the dealer described the car as previously having “one careful lady owner”, it shouldn’t turn out to have had several previous “boy racer” owners.
Of satisfactory quality:
It must meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as acceptable and be free from any quality problem．Also, bear in mind that a second-hand car will have a slightly different definition of what is considered “satisfactory, because there’s certainly an element of wear and tear．
Fit for the purpose:
It must be reasonable fit for any normal purpose and this includes any purpose that you specify to the seller．
●If any of the above is violated, then in theory, you may have the right to reject the vehicle and get your money back if you’re reasonably quick. Alternatively, the dealer might offer to replace or repair the car; reduce the price of offering a partial refund(退款).Once you’ve informed the dealer that you wish to reject the car , you must stop using the vehicle.
●If the rejection is not accepted, then it’s up to you to prove your case. You’ll need to pay for an independent assessment of the car and sue（打官司，起诉）for damages. If you do choose a repair, insist the dealer provide you with a hire car or pay any reasonable traveling expenses thus produced while your new car is in the garage.
●If the car is new, it’s likely that the claim will be too high to be fought. Using the small claims procedure to you may have to pay for legal representation. All this can be pretty daunting and expensive. You need to weigh up the pros and cons before rejecting a car. Would a repair do just as well? Selecting a dealer who offers a clear exchange policy may help.
【小题1】According to the text, what is essential after you inform the dealer of your wish to reject the car?

Henry Ford was the first person to build cars which were cheap，strong and fast．He was able to se11 millions of models because be could produce them in large numbers at a time；that is，he made a great many cars of exactly the same kind．Ford’s father hoped that his son would be come a farmer，but the young man did not like the idea and he went to Detroit（底特律）where he worked as a mechanic（机械师）．By the age of 29，in 1892，he had built his first car．However，the car made in this way，the famous “Model T” did not appear until 1908-five years after Ford had started his great motor car factory．This car showed to be well-known that it remained unchanged for twenty year．Since Ford’s time，this way of producing cars in large numbers has be come common in industry and has reduced the price of many goods which would otherwise be very expensive．

Henry Ford was the man to built _____ cars．

　　A．cheap and strong           B．cheap and long

　　C．fast and expensive          D．strong and slow

Ford was able to sell millions of cars，because_____．

　　A．he made many greet cars                   B．his cars are many

　　C．he made lots of cars of the same kind         D．both A and B

The young man became a mechanic，_______．

A．which was his father’s will  

B．which was against his own will

C．which was against his father’s will 

D．which was the will of both

The “Model T” was very famous_____．

　　A．before 1908          B．between 1982 and 1908

　　C．before 1892          D．after 1908

Ford built his own car factory

A．in 1903      B．in 1908      C．in 1913       D．in 1897